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Offscreen Activities

Ch01: Offscreen Activities
    • Laura introduces herself briefly to Kimiko and suggests they might chat tomorrow when rested. She finds a bed at Traveller's Haus and is out like a light. She dreams of having swapped places with Salem, her purrloin, so that she's the pokémon and Salem is her trainer. She wakes with a headache and – unable to get back to sleep – explores Frontier Town until she finds herself in the local library, reading up on everything she can about the region.
     
    • Ch02: Offscreen Activities
    • In the wake of Mayor Ignatius' defeat, Laura hurries from the mayoral residence to the offices of the Gazette. She explains what just happened to Shiftry Nathaniel, who after a brief panic, is ultimately grateful that he's no longer being blackmailed by Ignatius into non-reporting of the Empoleon's shady dealings.

    Laura drafts a front-pager on the night's events, and makes the decision to reveal the party's true nature to the people of Frontier Town, admitting in print to being an offworlder, and a human.

    "Are you sure about this, Ms Laura? It's rather a weighty thing to put in print."​
    ​
    "Well, it's the truth, isn't it? I just don't think keeping it a secret will work for long, if it's even still a secret to anyone not living under a rock. Better that we put it out there when we'll get the most good will for it, than have it sprung on us at a bad time."​


    Sonora accepts Gerome's job offer, to be the Zera's new bouncer, pending the nullification of her warrants and the elimination of Ignatius' remaining 'prison labour' caravans.

    Las Picaras' future remains uncertain.


    Lucien admits his father to the town gaol, and orders that he should receive no other visitors save for his lawyer. He then goes home, dismisses the security guards, and spends a fraught couple of hours politicking the guests and massaging their bruised egos by encouraging base gossipmongering about his own father. It isn't a difficult task in terms of skill – just difficult emotionally.

    He doesn't leave his room in the morning, but the mayoral staff can hear muttering and the scratch of his fountain pen.


    The cloud-voice that summoned the party to Forlas soon fades, as auras settle and the connection weakens. Distracted by a thousand other matters, few heroic spirits maintain conversation with the entity long enough to hear much more than a plea to find a mystery dungeon, to strengthen the connection again.

    As they fade out, they promise the party that they'll be there any time they fight alongside each other.
     
    • Ch03: Offscreen Activities
    • Laura is fairly quiet on the journey back from Bedaurejo Castle, but willing to talk to the party about what they learned. Her perspective is that the Coven probably consists of a mix of bad actors and idealists, and the party may find that physically fighting some members and providing an alternative cause might be enough to do something. She's sure there's lots more they don't know, so she's invested in learning more on her own, or giving the Vanguard a good reason to better trust them the next time they meet. She wants to have a team meeting so everyone can get on the same page and stay informed.

    She asks the Voice, before they leave the Mystery Dungeon, to pass around a message to everyone that can hear it to have their first proper team meeting ASAP. It should be possible to arrange one either in Sun Stone Saloon, or the Mayoral Residence, without too much trouble.
     
    • [Ch04] ~ Offscreen Activities
    • Laura has been discussing Commonwealth-Escarpa relations with Lucien and hopes to do something to improve the situation. It's a daunting task to contemplate alone...


    Betel has developed a sudden bout of confidence and assertiveness, and has begun issuing Objectives to the Wayfarers outside of battle.

    [ ] Campaign Objective: Locate the Wandering Light, Zeraora Luz.
    [ ] Campaign Objective: Establish additional Mystery Dungeon anchor points. (0/2)
    Click to expand...

    They are also nearly strong enough to create a telepathic communications network between the whole party...
     
    • [Ch05] ~ Offscreen Activities
    • During the Terminal Two mission, the Rangers and Escarpa warriors – with Felin – engaged Cipher forces above ground led by Commander Exol, an Exploud. The peons and Shadow pokémon were defeated handily, along with the Shadow onix.

    Nidoran Purple, the 'mascot' of the Ranger Union, demonstrated exceptional skill in evacuating pokémon, earning their trust effortlessly.
    The defeated peons and lower-ranking commanders were taken into custody by rangers, Escarpa, and Blaguarran volunteers. They will be held at Blaguarro Penitentiary until a county judge can issue sentences.

    The captured admins have been sent to Ranger HQ for secure holding and interrogation. Leona will accompany them, following a conversation with ranger Razael. Ranger Chief Ayda has requested that half a dozen or so Wayfarers capable of wielding Radiance also accompany the escort.

    The Wayfarers retrieved numerous documents, which will take time to sift through for valuable information. They have already discovered that a Terminal One exists approximately 1700 miles northeast in the frozen wasteland called the Wight Barren, in the desolate, isolated country of Malantau, where environmental conditions are harsh.

    Anite plans to fill Terminal Two with rock, earth, and concrete to render it unusable – but it may soon be swallowed by the local mystery dungeon, Blackwater Depths, whether it's filled in or not...

    The Cipher portal chamber in Terminal Two has been identified as a wound in reality – a rupture in Blackwater Depths, forced open and stabilised by Cipher technology. Now that the planar gateway technology is unpowered, the rupture has contracted, and seems impassable. Connecting the dungeon's heart to Betel's network could allow for the gradual closure of the rift.

    The ARK Unit, or "Ark," would like to travel with the Wayfarers to Frontier Town. They need somewhere out of the way to stay, where they won't have any difficult interactions with strangers but are still within reach of the Wayfarers – and civilisation.

    Ayda will remain in Blaguarro temporarily to serve as marshal until the situation there cools off. She wants to formally deputise some Blaguarro residents into the Ranger Union, after Anite, Tala and Mav demonstrated the qualities of good rangers in their mission.

    As a gesture of goodwill, the Escarpa will leave two warriors in Blaguarro, ostensibly to help with security but more importantly as part of outreach to maintain good relations following the excellent optics of the Cipher mission.

    Luz gave the Wayfarers her begrudging congratulations on a successful mission, with no apparent casualties. The old Saint might genuinely be impressed, though it's hard to tell. She didn't stick around – mentioning plans to have a long chat with Sierra in the near future...
     
    • Ch07: Offscreen Activites

    • The Election of 181​


    Frontier Town's next mayoral-gubernatorial election is now underway!

    While some towns have mayors with purely ceremonial roles, or whose political power is checked and balanced by other positions, not so for Frontier Town! The settlement's position as by far the largest municipality in the Soja' (and being fairly remote from a Commonwealth embattled by other domestic concerns and a contentious foreign policy) makes it practically synonymous with the frontier itself. In fact, the mayor is not only the town's political executive, but also the de jure Governor General of the Sohavenia Territory!

    Besides being a public figure, the mayor may set policy; pass, amend, or veto legislation; appoint judges and sheriffs; issue business charters to corporations; raise and command a lawful militia; and declare war. Naturally, this makes this election quite important, not just to townies, but to all citizens in the Territory. There are no limitations on who can run for office, although many locals will voice their distaste for carpetbaggers from out of state.

    In the Soja', those born in the Territory may vote, so long as they are of voting age. (This is usually 21, with exceptions for married heads of households and any who serve in the Rangers or the Commonwealth Army.) Otherwise, you must have been a continuous resident for at least five years (or two years, if you own property locally). Foreign nationals and convicted outlaws are also prohibited from voting. All you need do is go in person to Frontier Hall, sign the electoral register, fill out your ballot, and vote! ...There's just the small matter of the poll tax, a nominal $1 fee to cover the costs of running an election.

    Naturally, many 'mon are either unable or unwilling to make the journey from out of town, can't afford the poll tax worth a day's wages, haven't lived locally long enough to qualify, have a previous conviction, or lack the basic literacy to sign their name. Despite more than a thousand 'mon in Frontier Town, and thousands more in the wider Territory, only a few hundred are likely to vote on election day.

    After some debate among the town council, acting mayor Lucien Voclain has determined that the Wayfarers, having never set foot outside the Commonwealth – are considered to have been 'born' in the Sohavenia Territory. That means you get to vote. And with such a small electorate, your votes may constitute a key swing demographic...


    The Candidates
    ​

    Whimsicott Cal Greasewood
    Frontier Party
    Home State: Sojavenia

    "Politics can't be dismissed as the pasttime of a powerful few. It belongs to everyone who has a stake in society – and there's not a one of us who doesn't have that."

    Cal Greasewood is best-known as the proprietor and principle barkeep of the Sun Stone Saloon, in the middle of town. It is widely said that he is already among the most influential local 'mon, and he enjoys some additional name recognition (and public approval) for his opposition to disgraced former mayor Ignatius Voclain. He may face scrutiny for an estrangement from his relatives, and a related irregularity over the Sun Stone's property deed, but is otherwise considered respectable.

    The new 'Frontier Party' is a reaction to recent political upheaval, calling for a 'new politics of the west' and for citizens to take responsibility for their governance. What this means in practice is a subject of fierce discourse, but members and advocates agree on the principles of civic duty, personal liberty, and independence from federal control. In other respects, the Frontier Party is somewhere between the establishment Charter and Concord parties on the traditional political spectrum.

    Greasewood is running on a fiscally moderate platform favouring limited government and modest political reform, but notably has a strong anticorruption plank. Transparency and integrity are a key theme of his campaign.


    Floragato Sonora del Sur
    Independent
    Home State: Tenacinde

    "The difference between banditry and banking is in the letter of the law, not moral rightness. There's plenty wrong done that's still 'legal', and I mean to change that."

    Sonora is most known as the leader of local gang 'Las Picaras', once wanted for highway robbery. She and her gang have received full pardons from Mayor L. Voclain after it was revealed that her actions were in the public interest, and led to the rescue of several abducted citizens. Public sentiment on Floragato del Sur is mixed, with some calling her a common criminal, while others reverently describe her as a kind of folk hero.

    The former outlaw insists she is running not for protest votes, but as a serious candidate. She has no political experience, but as she puts it, she's "spent enough years wrangling rogues to know how to be a leader of 'mon". Her eclectic proposals include total government transparency, abolishing the poll tax, antitrust statutes, workers' rights laws, and the establishment of a state orphanage.

    Del Sur's campaign emphasises her charisma and her biography as a vindicated vigilante, reconciling her background with her anti-corruption platform by framing herself as a protector of the vulnerable.


    Stoutland Minerva Whetmore
    Concord Party
    Home State: Alexandria

    "Grand promises and catchy slogans certainly inspire the heart, but real governance demands patience, dedication, and a willingness to compromise. Pragmatism may not be popular, but it is pragmatists that get things done."

    Minerva Whetmore is a career politician, with many years of experience at the local and state level, and more recently as a representative – and later senator – in the Commonwealth Assembly. She has a pristine public record and has achieved high approval ratings in her home state of Alexandria for her diligence and attentiveness to her constituents' concerns. Townies describe her as respectful, stoic, and even-tempered, and as having a limitless patience for critics, children, and crackpots.

    As a lifelong member of the Concord Party, Stoutland Whetmore is running on the party line of law and order, deregulation of private businesses, and stable, principled government. In these strange times, many in Frontier town would welcome "less crime, less chaos, and less overreach", even as others view a potential influx of corporate interests with more wariness. As a faithful Aeonite, Whetmore stands especially firm on the safeguarding of "travellers, transients and traders" in the tradition of Latias and Latios, and has pledged to secure the continental rail route, even if it requires military action against outlaws and quarrelsome clans.

    The senator faces criticism for being a carpetbagger – an establishment figure from out of state, seeking office in an area she's never even visited and where she has no connections. Whetmore has stated that she believes Sohavenia is in dire need of real political acumen, and that as a recent widow, she is looking to leave Alexandria behind her and put down new roots, in the pioneering tradition.


    Sneasler S. V. Arpagone
    Progressive Conservative Liberal Reform Party
    Home State: Yes

    "I know what the people know! And the people know that establishment politics have failed!"

    Mr. 'SV' Arpagone is something of an enigma. A recent appearance in local politics, he is keen to discuss his political career and experience as a Governor, but it's unclear where exactly he was Governor of... Perhaps he hails from the northern tundra, to which sneasel are native? In any case, Arpagone is a 'unique' personality, prone to bold declarations and sweeping appeals to populist sentiment. When asked about his party – of which he is founder, treasurer, candidate, and sole member – he claims to represent all voters, whatever their beliefs. He has yet to explain how he can reconcile antithetical ideologies, but this does not in any way diminish his enthusiasm on the campaign trail.

    Arpagone's platform includes repealing mayoral term limits, giving the mayor responsibility for certification of election results, and raising a territorial militia that would be personally loyal to the mayor. His policies don't seem to have to do with anything besides his own naked grab for power, but those who've listened to his stump speech sure seem to think he's a good public speaker...

    Mr. Arpagone would like the Gazette to add that he is offering secreterial positions to anyone who helps get him elected.


    Machoke Dayle
    Mental Security Party
    Home State: Sohavenia

    "We must secure the First Frontier – the mind of the thinking citizen!"

    Famed conspiracy theorist and local crank Machoke Dayle is a patrol 'mon with many years of experience in the town watch. Candidate Dayle is running on a single, top-priority policy, and that policy is the "security and liberty" of one's mind and thoughts from the "Psychics that secretly run the world". (The Gazette cannot verify the existence of such a faction at the time of writing.)

    Machoke Dayle believes that there are great superpowers hidden from the public eye that hold great Psychic sway over the populace. As mayor, he promises to dedicate a significant fraction of the town's resources into researching and combating powerful psychic forces so people can be safe from mental invasions, manipulations, and other malevolent machinations of the "Secret Class".

    He is expected to receive a non-zero percentage of the vote.


    Maushold F. T. R. & M. van de Huizen
    House Party
    Home State: Landsverd

    "Je kunt de politiek opgeven. Je kunt thuisblijven en tegen jezelf zeggen: er zal toch niets ten goede veranderen. Maar juist die houding verhindert echte vooruitgang."
    Frontier Town has never had a polycephalous mayor before, let alone a many-bodied one, but there is no law that specifically prohibits a Maushold colony from running for office. Which is exactly what they are doing. Running for office, that is.

    Maushold van de Huizen are originally from east Landsverd, where they helped run a successful agricultural co-op, but moved west several years ago with several other Maus colonies to establish a hostel for migrants and seasonal workers. Traveller's Haus has since become an important and well-regarded enterprise in town.

    It's unclear what specific policy proposals they have in mind, but one can surmise they support... small businesses and family values?


    Prinplup Lucien Voclain (not running)
    Charter Party
    Home State: Sohavenia

    "I have no wish to follow in the tracks of my predecessor. I wish only to be a public servant for howsoever long as I am fit for that use."

    Although the son of former mayor Ignatius has issued repeated, emphatic statements to the Frontier Gazette that he is not in the running for the mayoral seat, his time as acting mayor has been received very favourably by citizens. His deft diplomatic management of the so-called Shadow Scandal and rising tensions with the Escarpa Clan have drawn considerable praise in the press, and despite his father's ruined reputation, voters report high job approval for the younger Voclain and would welcome a continuation of his policies. Voclain should expect to receive a large number of (unwelcome) write-in votes!

    The Charter Party is one of the two establishment political parties in the Commonwealth, favouring strong federal institutions, codified rights and responsibilities, and public development programs. If formally elected (against his will), Lucien is expected to support the popular Charterist platform of state-financed infrastructure projects, meritocratic egalitarianism, and economic interventionism. Just, without the corruption this time...

    Perhaps if he were to endorse another candidate, his votes would go their way instead?

     
    • Ch08: Offscreen Activities
    • With Alexander gone, many Wayfarers will soon feel their hearts a little lighter, the load on their shoulders less heavy. Bad dreams abate, dark thoughts have a less vicious burn, Shadow becomes easier to manage. It's as if merely by being such a singularly powerful being, the world as it was had been bent towards the world as he imagined it – darker, crueller, more predatory. No longer. Things seem somehow... more normal.

    Across Luctemar, dungeons are also returning to a more 'normal' level of activity, and the Shadow corruption is fading from those that were not already darkened. With so many offworlders – and such powerful offworlders – evicted from Forlas, the pressure on the skin of the world has clearly eased off considerably. So long as there's not another en masse arrival of offworlders, mystery dungeons should remain stable, if not return to their previous sizes and intensities.

    Reportedly, the Ranger Union locked down an attempt to seize their Headquarters while coordinating militia efforts across the Soja', the Escarpa Clan kept voidlings at bay in the tunnels under Blaguarro (earning much favour with the locals), and a Shadow-seeped dungeon in the northern badlands was held fast by a lone Zeraora. From the west come rumours that Templefall Cavern was purified once again by a pair of light-wielding monks, while from the east there are reports of a dip in Vanguard activity in Novelux, and a dragon-riding knight sighted around Trembling Weft. It seems that wherever there were dungeons falling into Shadow, pokémon stepped up to face the threat. Many of these allies send their thanks and congratulations, in various forms, to the Wayfarers.

    The Winter Arbiter – Lord Articuno – sends such a message of their own, and reports a full recovery from holding off Glastrier in the Wight Barrens. In it, they humbly request that the Wayfarers share any intelligence they gather on Glastrier, and expresses a wish to meet with representatives of the party soon to discuss next steps in their plan to investigate the dark corners of the Covenant of Light. It seems the paperwork to admit various Wayfarers to the organisation has gone through.

    Brisa and Sonora – having held the fort in Bedaurejo Castle – start an impromptu celebration of sorts in the Wanderin' Zera, after telling the story to other patrons. Brisa is the happiest most have ever seen her, overjoyed at having had the chance to let loose against a foe without holding back. Sonora held her own with the help of her Radiance, and many, many drinks later, she embellishes the tale by claiming to have arrested Alexander as her first official collar as sheriff. This soon becomes popularly accepted fact. (It's impossible to tell who believes it sincerely and who's just committed to the bit.)

    Shortly after the work of banishing Cipher is complete, Powehi appears to the Wayfarers in another collective dream. Although the risks were considerable, the threat of interminable corruption has been put down, and a dangerous faction entirely neutralised. Although he may not express gratitude, as such – mostly relief, and sombre expectation of further troubles to come – he does acknowledge the weight of the party's achievement, and that without their help he could only have protected Forlas through unthinkable sacrifice. As such, he extends his blessing for them to remain on Forlas for the time being, if they feel their mission is not yet concluded. He makes an opaque reference to the "artificial beacon" that makes it clear he thinks it worth investigating...

    Leona, now more isolated than ever, has taken to searching for clues as to the nature and whereabouts of the world's natural 'beacon', in hopes of finding her own way home. On the way back from the Wight Barrens, Laura made a passing suggestion that Leona was a sort of Wayfarer in her own right, and while the wolf's response was non-committal, she's begun showing up to team meetings all the same.
     
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